The legislation, first announced almost two years ago, covered four areas of workers’ rights: terms of employment, pay and benefits, work-life balance and the role of trade unions. It proposed largely replacing zero-hour contracts with “banded hours” and giving unions a right to request access to workplaces. The bill was the main piece of legislation being brought forward by Sinn Féin Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, but it faced opposition from the DUP, which refused to allow it to be debated by the Assembly, and from business groups including the CBI and Federation of Small Businesses, which urged delay.
Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney said the DUP had "destroyed any prospect of the Good Jobs Bill becoming law within this Assembly mandate" and described the party as "anti-worker, anti-trade union, and fundamentally opposed to progress."
DUP Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly called the bill "genuinely one of the worst pieces of extreme legislation to ever have been brought forward" and warned it would have been "a disaster for the economy, for employment, for jobs and for business."
Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said it had become clear the DUP was determined to “frustrate and delay” the bill, which she said contained important rights such as carers leave and neo-natal care leave. She said her party would be determined to ensure the legislation progressed and that there were other routes to advance it in the Assembly.
Trade unionists also voiced criticism. Irish Congress of Trade Unions assistant general secretary Gerry Murphy said workers in Northern Ireland "will be left behind once again" and accused business groups of hiding "behind the spurious claim that they have no knowledge of the provisions contained within the bill."
The future of the legislation now depends on the outcome of the Assembly election and which ministerial portfolios the parties are able to choose. If Sinn Féin does not get the economy brief, it could attempt to advance the legislation through a Private Member's Bill.